The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1887-02-09
A VERY OPEN LETTER
ON nEyENUE REFORM MArrEns.

| ' Aaeho" oeh" hh Nuufcm 10
Speaker Carlisle Tint Is Full of punEcnt
Points-A Paper Thnt I, Worth l,end.
lug By All Clnssc, OF Democrats.
WAsiIsaros, D. O., Fob. s-The fol.
lowing letter was to-day zen. to Speaker
Carlisle: r,sft gE
WASHINGTON, D. G., Feb. S, 1887.
Hon. j. G. Carlisle, Speaker of he Houls Of
| Representatives.: ,.-W = ~
DEAR SrE:-We regret escsediucly that
you could not see your way clear to rive
recognition on yesterday 10 some Demo.
crat TO enable him 10 movo 10 puspend
the rules for the purpose OF giving the
House an opportunity Of considering the
question OF the total repeal Of the Internal
Revenue tax on tobacco" Your refusal
to give this recognition. together with
your lsttor Of the 7th inst, deserves more
than passing notics. \
II ftwo.thirds or moro OF tho House arc
In favor OF such repeal, 1t was a grave re-.
sponsibility for you to oppose such
large majority Of the representatives OF
the people. Assuming, however, for the
sake OF the argument, that. the friends OF
the proposition constitute less number
than two.thirds, their strength Is certain.
ly such that they ought to have bsen
permitted to test tho sense OF tho HOUSE
on tho question, especially sincs tho couu.
try Is watching with intenss interest the
action OF the llouse In respect thereto and
tho constituents Of a larg, number OF the
members Of the House hn7o been urging
them to obtain II possible, a confederation
OF tho subject.
ONLY WANTED A CHANCE.
Wedon not wishto be misunderstood. We
earnestly desire from party standpoint
that recognition should have been given
to Democrat to mako the motion, but we
would vote cheerfully for the proposition |
whether made by Democrat or by Re-
publican. You assume in you letter to |
US that we ignored your communication
OF the, Sd inst, and had deliberately failed |
TO make q response thereto. Our friends
did not have an opportunity Of consider.
ing that communication until Fri |
day evening the 4th inst. 1t was Of |
such a character as TO require
more than formal reply. We |
called at your hotel the next day, Sat. |
urday, but through no fault of yours or |
ours wo did not succeed in obtaining an |
interview until the day after. We be. |
lievod that the friends OF the repeal OF tho |
tobacco tax wero 30 strong III the House
that we would save to the oppressed tax
payers oil this country an annual reduc.
ton Of taxation to the extent of S2S,O0O,.
900 II the motion for repeal could be- made
in the House on Monday Of this week, tho
latest day when such q motion to be ef.
fective under the rules, would be in order
during the Forty.ninth Congress. The
motion, il made during the last Elk DAYS
OF the session would almos. certainly be
too lato to secure favorable consideration
for tho question in the Senate.
DID NOT ANTICIPATE REFUSAL.
We did not anticipate refusal Of recog-
milton for the purpoae intended. We un.
derstood you to say to us verbally that if
you gave to any one Of our friends the de-
sired recognition, lair play all around
would require you to give other Demo-
Gratis IN opportunity to make like motion
to pass come distinct proposition relating
to reduction, OF the tariff duties. To
this We assented. You instanced as one
such proposition the putting OF salt on the
free list.
We think that arevieion Of the tariGand
OF the Internal Revenue laws can be at
tanned from time to time by reforming the
obvious and greater grievances OF the two
systems, and that We should not refuse to
make such reforms because sweeping
changes have not been practicable. The
country is expecting from this Congress
relief from the grievous 'burdens Of taxa.
tlon. II somo OF US cannot get all We
went, We should take what we can ret,
Our single proposition for the repeal OF the
tax on tobacco, WAS not intended and can.
not be fairly construed as intending to |
exclude from the consideration OF the |
| aouse all other measures for tho 1educ- |
ton OF taxation. We wish to obtain con-
alteration for that proposition. but no
were not pressed for the reduction OF the |
Internal Revenue taxes to the exslusion
OF other'measures for the revision and 70. |
duction OF the tariff. 5
CANNOT DEAL WITH WHOLE sUnIEcT,
A Democratic caucus cannot success.
fully deal with ''the whole subject Of rev.
enue reduction" at this late stage Of the |
seeGion. That suggestion comes too late. !
II tho caucus could have controlled the
legislation OF the Forty-ninth Congress-
from the beginning, the country might bs |
better oil. II the Honse was considered |
competentto 10 deal with the silver dues-
ton, with ths pension question aud with |
the oleomsrgarine question free from the |
dictation OIL Democratic csucus we think |
it ought to bs competent to deal with the |
question OF reduction Of taxa
ton. The caucus ought not now
to be invited to justify policy
Of delay and non-action on this suhject.
We sincerely hope, with you, that somo
plan may yet be deyiaed which will en-
able the House to consider tho whole
subject OF revenue reduction and reform.
In spirit Of fairness to all interests and |
in accordance with the letter aud spirit OF
tho platform Of tho National Democratic
party adopted at tho convention held at |
Chicago in the year 1854, and we assure
you that We are ready to mes! any OF our
Democratic associates who are prepared |
to treat with US Gil such basis.
(Signed JOHN s. HENDERsoN,
E GEO. D. WISE |